In the first part of this article, we discussed how to set up your silent auction, solicit items to auction off, and manage and track your auction donations. In this second (and final) part of the article, we’re going to discuss how to run the auction smoothly, as well as how to maximize revenue at the event.
Running Your Auction (Without Getting a Headache)
Depending on the size of your silent auction, you may have anywhere from 10 to 300 items up for bid. This can create quite a headache during your event. In order to make sure the event goes smoothly, follow these five tips:
1. Have Enough Volunteers – You’ll need a good number of volunteers (or paid staff) to run your event, especially if you have a lot of items up for bid. Recruit them early and train them well.
2. Appoint Auction Monitors – Task at least two of your volunteers with being “Auction Monitors.” These people are responsible for keeping an eye on the items during the event to make sure people are observing the minimum bid, answer questions about items, and collect the bid sheets when the auction ends.
3. Use Clipboards and a Lot of Pens – Sure, you can just put your bidsheets on the table and scatter some pens around, but if you really want to run a professional auction, put each bid sheet on a cheap clip board (these can be purchased at your local dollar store) and make sure each and every item has its own pen. Guests will bid more if you make it each for them.
4. Group Items by Category – If you’ve got a large auction, group your items by category to make it easy for your guest s to navigate your event. Have a section for restaurant gift certificates, one for entertainment, one for sports tickets, etc.
5. Close Out Your Bidding by Section – As you end bidding on your auction, close the bidding by section. Start with the section with the lowest average priced items, and move up in value as you go. For example, you might announce that the restaurant gift certificate section will be closing in 5 minutes, then close it out, then announce that sports tickets will be closing in 5 minutes, then close it out, then announce that your high-end section will be closing in 5 minutes, then close it out.
Auction Checkout 101
Next to tracking your silent auction donations before the event, the biggest headache you will have in running a large silent auction is the auction checkout. Be sure you have a procedure in place before the event, and either print up signs with the check out procedure that you can display at the event, or have the emcee announce the procedure to the crowd (or both).
One checkout procedure that I have found effective for large auctions is:
- Have auction winners collect the bidsheets for the items they won off of the tables, and bring them to the check out area.
- Set up your checkout area with multiple lines: several for credit cards, and one for cash and check only. If you have a particularly large auction, consider using stanchions or velvet rope to separate the lines.
- When winners come up with their bidsheets, have them pay, then separate the two or three part carbonless bidsheets that you used. Mark their copy PAID, and keep your copy in a folder.
- Winners may then take their copy, marked PAID, to an auction runner (one of your volunteers) who collects the items for the winner. If the person won a gift card or sports / entertainment tickets, they can take their PAID bidsheet / receipt to the Giftcard & Ticket Table, where your volunteers have all of the cards and tickets filed by item number.
Of course, no silent auction checkout procedure is perfect, and there are bound to be some problems at checkout. Train your staff and volunteers to handle these with grace, and appoint a “Problem Solver” to figure out tricky issues at checkout.
Maximizing Your Silent Auction Revenue
Ok, now you know how to run a successful and efficient silent auction event — but how do you maximize the fundraising revenue from these events? Follow these tips:
1. Take Credit Cards – Taking credit cards is a must for a large silent auction. Without this feature, your revenue will be severely cut.
2. Pre-Publicize the Auction Items – Preview interesting silent auction items on your website, on your event invitations, and in your event communications. You may even want to consider taking bids on some items online, with the caveat that online bidding ends at noon on the day of the event, and bidding at the actual event will start just above the highest online bid.
3. Motivate People at the Event – Your emcee should constantly be working the room, encouraging people to bid, and alerting them to items that are still real bargains.
4. Offer Another Opportunity – Many people will come to your event ready to spend money on some auction items, but will walk away empty handed because they were outbid. Give them a chance to spend that money on your cause – set up a table that allows them to sponsor a service you provide, pay for items your organization needs, or simply make a donation in lieu of buying an auction item.
More information on running successful silent auctions can be found here.
Related posts:
- How to Run a Successful Silent Auction (Part I)
- Creative Silent Auction Ideas for Your Event
- 10 Tips for Making the Most out of Your Silent Auction Event
- Why Silent Auctions are a Good Idea – Even Though They’re Lots of Work
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
The nonprof I work for has had a fairly successful SA once a year for 13 years. I have been here for the last 3 and there is a constant disagreement we seem to have. I hope you can help us settle it!
1) Should we state the value of the item? It seems to me that no one would bid higher than the value, therefore halting any bidding war…
2) Should we always set a minimun bid? We get the items at no cost. I would be happy to get $5 for something as oppossed to an item not going at all because the min. bid is too high. My dir. thinks the min bid should be 50% of the value, but again, the bidding won’t go very high if we set it too high?
3) Should we make the bidding increments large ($10-$25) or low ($1-$10)?
I’d appreciate anyone’s opinion/expereince on this! Each year we have items that are only bid on by one person and we end up with about 50% of the items we put out back in our office. I’d like to get rid of it all at the auction, for any amount!
Thank you!
Catie,
Thanks for your comments, and I look forward to hearing what our other 10,000+ monthly readers think about your questions. Here are my thoughts…
1. I have found that stating an item value does two things… first, because we always put “retail market value” instead of “item value,” and because we usually start our bidding at 50% of that value or so, many people are willing to bid right up to that value rather because they know what a great deal they are getting. Otherwise, many organizations have found that people stop well short of the actual value, because they aren’t sure what the real value is and they worry they are getting “duped.” (Of course, for really valuable, one of a kind experiences, where people may get into a true bidding war, you can put the value as “priceless” to avoid the problem you mention).
Secondly, the market value is important for people to know because in most cases, the only tax deductible part of their silent auction purchased is the amount they pay above the market value of the item. In big silent auctions, it is not uncommon for restaurant gift certificates to go for 10% above face value, with the extra amount paid being a donation to the organization.
2. I think you should always set a minimum bid, and they, if the item was donated free of charge and there aren’t any bids on it halfway through your event, have a staff member go around and slash minimum bids in half…. then, right before the end of the auction, if there are items without bids, you can slash the price again….
3. I think bidding increments should be based on the starting bid. For example, for items with starting bids under $25, the increment could be $1 or $2. For starting bids $25-$50, it could be $5, for $50-$150 it could be $10, from $150-$300 it could be $20, etc….
One final thought… if you end up with lots of little items at your auction, you may want to consider combining items into packages that have more perceived value for your guests. Generally, silent auctions should only see 5-10% of items being left unsold, maximum.
Thanks again,
Joe
Hello,
I am involved with a non profit organization and have been involved in running silent auctions. I have also donated items for silent auctions to raise funds for charitites. I have found from both perspectives that Silent Auctions have become a very popular fundraising method and also that auction items are increasing in value. This brings up the stakes so to speak and I have some questions I would appeciate your professional opinion on.
1. Is it important to have a definitive closing time stated for a silent auction item?
2. Should we allow our own volunteer or club members to bid on the silent auction items while they are working the event in various capacities including managing the auction tables? Should this be considered a conflict and/or does it bring into question the integrity of the auction to general attendees.
3. How important are update announcements of closing times of auction items…I have heard that giving numerous updates as to when an item is closing can create more bidding at the closing?
4. If we had announced a closing time for an item at a certain time and then close it early without notice should this be an issue to be concerned with? What if a bidder comes 20 minutes prior to previously announced closing time and is told the item has already been randomly closed…are we obligated to do something about this….we have had this issue and have various opinions on how to handle it.
When excellent items are offered for auction it creates a win/win for both the charity and the bidders. We want to insure that everything is handled ethically and professionally.
Thank you so much for your comments.
Mike,
Thanks for your comments. Here are my thoughts:
1. I think it is important to have a definite closing time, at least for a category of items. For example, saying that the Restaurants section will close at 9PM and the Sports Memorabilia section will close at 9:15 PM, etc.
2. So long as they remain ethical (not hiding bidsheets, etc.) I don’t think it is a problem to allow your staff and volunteers to bid. Most organizations I have worked with allow it, and the staff always gets a kick out of it!
3. I agree, and would have the emcee give updates on a regular basis.
4. Why did you close the item early? Unless you have a really compelling reason, I would leave the items open until the stated time to generate more bids.
Thanks again for your comments, and best of luck with your next auction event!
Joe
Do you recommend people using their names, or do you suggest giving them a bidder number so people don’t know who they are bidding against?
Do you think in-person visits to potential donors (restaurants, car washes, etc) are effective for obtaining donations?
Thanks for your advice.
Kim,
Thanks for your comment. While I have seen both work, I recommend using names, not numbers, just to simplify the process. Yes, I think in person visits to obtain auction items work — in fact, I have seen it happen quite often, with great success!
Joe
hi,
we having a fund raising on february and i was wondering how many items we should present to our audience,[100-150 peoples] and since it’ll be february 14th
valentine day what type of items we should forcast
thank you
jean paul [vancouver canada]
Jean Paul, thanks for your comment / questions!
While the number of items to have depends on your audience, for 100-150 people I would suggest having around 30-50 items to bid on. Valentine’s day is an interesting day to hold the event! I would try to put together lots of “couples” packages (nights out, spa days, getaways) to capitalize on the fact that lots of couples will likely attend the event together and be in a romantic mood that evening.
Best of luck with the event!
Joe
Hi Joe! Thanks for the excellent guide. Perhaps you can help clear up a couple of factors for me:
1) New items are great for a silent auction, but can gently “used” items be offered as well? What’s a good approach for presenting these used items in the auction? Or do attendees usually assume that some items are donated ones, which are possibly used?
2) You mention taking credit cards at large silent auctions. Transaction fees cut into donation offerings. What are affordable options for nonprofits when doing on-site, credit card transactions?
Thanks for your help!
KG,
Thanks for your questions!
1) Generally, I have found that new items work best, unless the used items are truly outstanding (e.g. a nice used car or something like that). Also, the used items may work for certain organizations in certain areas. As I said, though, generally the items will need to be new to sell really well. For used items, you may want to hold a non-profit “yard sale” instead, where all proceeds go to the organization.
2) Yes, you are right, transaction fees cut into the amount raised through silent auctions, but I have found that it is more than made up for because so many more people are willing to bid higher amounts if they can put it on plastic.
One great option for on-site credit card transactions is Square (https://squareup.com/)
Used items were included in our charity garage sale, but I wasn’t sure beyond that type of fundraiser. So, I really appreciate your advice on that matter and on how to incorporate on-site credit card transactions.
Very useful site – thanks for all the ideas! I have a procedural question regarding check-out. In addition to silent and live auction items, we also have sign up parties (i.e., Mardi Gras party for 25 people at $25 each). With the silent and live items, we have multi-part bid sheets; we keep one and give one to the winner for tax records. How do you suggest handling this for a sign up party? You can’t really have 20 or 25 part sheets – does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks so much!
Kellie,
Thanks for your question! First of all, I love the sign-up party idea. Good one!
For the party winners, I would suggest that you either have a book of receipts that the check out folks can write out on the spot, or, even better, require the winners to write their name and e-mail address on the bidsheet, and place a note on the item saying that receipts will be e-mailed to the luck winners the day after the event.
Joe
I’m wondering if you can explain, in more detail, how the 3-part carbonless bid-sheet system works. I like the idea of giving the winning bidder a copy at check-out, but I don’t understand how, if there’s no carbon, the other two sheets would have any of the pertinent info as to the winning bidder and amount. Or is this just so that the auction runners can find the item(s)? And if that’s the case, what is the purpose for the 3rd copy? This will be our 3rd silent auction, and we’ve always just sent each bidder/donor/sponsor a tax receipt at year-end. You’re not suggesting that the bid sheet marked “paid” would suffice for tax purposes, or does it?
Another question regarding the check-out process: last year, we took a few minutes after all of the bidding was closed to sort all of the bid sheets by the name of the winning bidder, stapled them together, and then calculated the total owed by each – it seemed to streamline the check-out process a bit. I know that this wouldn’t work with your multi-copy bid sheet system, but other than that, what do you think of that idea?
Thank you for the wealth of info you’ve compiled on this site – it was all extremely helpful!
Susan
Susan,
Thanks for your comments / questions! Glad the site has been helpful to you.
Regarding the bidsheets – perhaps I should have clarified better: when I say “carbonless” bidsheets, what I am referring to are three-part sheets that DO transfer the information through all three (write on one and it presses through onto all three) through a carbon-paper system, but where sheets of carbon-paper aren’t required (such as these sheets here: http://www.ncrforms.com/ ) — I’m not endorsing that vendor, just including it as an example — so, the information would in fact transfer onto all three sheets.
No, I would still give out or mail a receipt.
Regarding your idea for grouping the winning bids by name, I like it, and it would work, depending on the auction. For large (very large) auctions, I always suggest closing the sections out one at a time, and thus, it may prove harder to to that, given that they bidsheets will be coming back (and sometimes paid) at different times, but it would seem to add some streamline to the process.